


New Beginnings

by avearia



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: And why don't I ever see AUs of Katara with short hair? Like never?, F/M, Fire Nation Politics (Avatar), Haircuts, It's a pity that's what it is, Post-War, Reunions, Zuko's having trouble adjusting, Zutara, anyway, not Comic- or LOK-Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:02:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26737825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avearia/pseuds/avearia
Summary: It’s been six months since Zuko last saw Katara, and now he sees a lot has changed.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 59





	New Beginnings

Zuko had been looking forward to the reunion.

Today, the Gaang was meeting at the rendezvous point in the fire nation after six long months of separation. The group had split up to deal with problems throughout the world after the war. Katara went north, Sokka and Suki went south, Aang went east, and Toph, west, while Zuko stayed to govern his people.

No one liked the thought of splitting up, but the world was changing fast, and they needed to change with it. Dividing their focus would help them keep up with the post-war effort; they literally needed to be everywhere at once, and this way, they could be.

Zuko's life had always been a bit chaotic, but his first months as Fire Lord put his adaptability to the test.

It seemed everything was changing, all at once, from the construction of a new palace (the old one burned down during his Agni Kai with Azula), to new staff (his sister had fired _everyone_ in her first hour of rule, apparently), new cities (the returning troops had to live _somewhere_ ) and even new laws (he tried to slip his 'no dragon hunting' decree under the radar, but it left people asking—did that mean there were dragons left to _hunt_?)

It would be nice, he thought, to take a break from all that. To sit down with friends, catch up on old times… get lost in the past, and make the world stop changing, just for a little while.

But now, after six months of separation, it was clear how much his friends had changed, as well.

"Oh hey, Zuko. You're the first one here. Do you want some tea?" Katara asked, holding out a teacup as he sat down.

Zuko accepted the cup from her, unable to stop staring. She looked… _different._

He almost hadn't recognized her when he'd arrived. Her face was the same… her eyes were too. But the change was jarring enough that at first, he hung back, eyeing the blue-clad woman as she unpacked her picnic basket, unsure if this woman could _really_ be the Katara he knew.

"I stopped by Ba Sing Se on my trip back. Your Uncle's doing well, by the way, and he gave me some teas to share with everyone." The pottery clinked as Katara moved the jars near him. "Do you want Ginseng, Jasmine, Black or Oolong?"

But her smile was unmistakable. She'd lit up the moment she spotted him, beckoning him over, and that smile – the one that had haunted his dreams for the past six months – made everything fall into place.

"Zuko?"

She wasn't _that_ different, he had to finally admit. Only a little taller, a little older – just one difference separated the new Katara from the old. One startling, jarring difference, one he never could have forseen.

She'd cut her _hair_.

"Zuko!"

Zuko blinked, his thoughts vanishing as Katara snapped her fingers impatiently in front of his face, trying to earn his attention. Her smile had fallen away, replaced by a puzzled frown, erasing the familiarity once more.

"H-huh?" Zuko asked, casting a glance about before settling again on Katara. On her frown, her hair.

"Tea. What kind?" she repeated, tapping her spoon on the jars she'd set before them.

Zuko probably should have looked down, made a vague and diplomatic apology for spacing off, and busied himself with picking a tea. But Zuko, as the world was discovering, was not terribly diplomatic.

"Y-you cut your hair."

Katara raised an eyebrow for one long minute. Then she sighed.

"Thank you, captain obvious." She quipped.

"But… but you, but it was—but your hair," Zuko tried, unsuccessfully, to explain.

In the moment, his awe seemed only natural, even justified. A simple haircut made all the difference. Katara's long, signature flowing brown locks had been cropped close to her head, almost boyishly short. The longest strands, two framing her face, barely reached her chin.

She still looked gorgeous, of course, carrying a wild and untamed air that matched her new look. Maybe that was the problem, he rationalized. Katara's long flowing locks normally curled and twisted down her back, like the water she was so good at bending. Rivers and ocean streams. It was a part of her, of her essence.

He'd never considered what she might look like without that hair. But water was the element of change, and so it was only natural that her hair could change too. This dynamic, wild look wasn't impossible—just a new side of her.

It was a lot to take in, that was all.

Katara briskly took the cap off one of the jars and began measuring the tea into its pot. He didn't see which kind. Her face had turned stony, almost sour, and he instantly regretted bringing the subject up.

"'Katara, your hair' _this,_ and 'Katara, your hair' _that_. It's like you boys can't talk about _anything_ else." She said, her voice clipped. "First Aang, then Sokka, then my Dad, now _you—_ god, I'll be glad when Toph gets here. At least _she_ won't make a make a fuss."

"Sorry," he apologized, trying to back down. "I didn't mean it like that." Maybe cutting your hair meant something different in the Water Tribe than it did in the Fire Nation. Still—despite her words, Katara seemed defensive, almost upset about the subject, and he wanted to know why. "I just— _why_ did you cut your hair?"

She set the teapot down harder than necessary, hard enough to rattle the lid. "I had a nasty run-in with a firebender, _okay?_ " she snapped glaring to the side with frustrated, angry eyes. "The guy caught me by surprise, and my coat and most of my braid caught fire. I had to live with charred hair or cut it. _Okay?_ "

A firebender? Zuko reeled, surprised. "Were you hurt?" he found himself asking. She hesitated, her anger ebbing away.

"Just… my pride," she admitted, hand straying up to her head. "My hair—it used to look just like my Mother's—I can't believe I had to cut it. And everyone keeps staring—does it really look that awful?" she asked, tugging on a lock.

"No! No," Zuko assured quickly. "It looks fine, it's just a big change, that's all. You look… beautiful."

"Really?" Katara asked, hopeful.

"Yeah," Zuko said. "You always look beautiful."

Crud. Did he just say that out loud?

Katara blinked at him, unmoving. It was clear she'd heard him. Finally, she let out a breath. "Um, thank you," she blushed, looking down. Needing something to do with her hands, she picked up a flask and bent the water into the waiting teapot.

Zuko quickly scrambled for a way to change the subject. "You know, I cut my hair once," he said.

Then wanted to hit himself. _That... wasn't exactly changing the subject, was it._

Katara raised an eyebrow. "Oh you did, did you?" she asked, probably thinking he'd burned his own hair, too.

"Yeah. Struggled with it for weeks. It was, ah, after the North Pole fiasco?" her eyes lit up in recognition. "Azula tracked us down and, uh, tried to drag us back to the Fire Nation in chains. So we escaped and became fugitives in the Earth Kingdom."

"Oh," she said, a little awkwardly. Before the silence could get uncomfortable, she asked, "So you did it to hide your identity."

"Um, yes and no. In the Fire Nation, cutting your hair is a sign of disownment. It signifies a break with your family." Remembering Katara's concern about her Mother, Zuko quickly added, "It can also mean a fresh start, represent change, or to symbolize a new beginning."

She nodded at that, a thoughtful look on her eyes as she set the lid on the teapot.

"Will you get the fire?" she asked.

"Sure," he said, glad her experience with a rogue firebender hadn't put her off _his_ bending. With an effortless snap of his fingers, Zuko set the tinder alight.

He didn't miss Katara's blush, or the way she tucked her short hair behind her ear before she smiled and placed the pot on the fire.

"New beginnings," she repeated, as much to him as to herself. "I like that."

Zuko studied Katara—her face, her new haircut, the knowing- and more-than-friendly smile she offered him when she turned back to their conversation.

 _New beginnings_.

Huh.

Maybe change wasn't so bad after all.

—

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and critique are always welcome!


End file.
